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INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE NAMES MARKETING CHIEF

Timo Lumme Was Regional VP for ESPN

DETROIT (AdAge.com) -- On the eve of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, the International Olympic Committee has hired Timo Lumme as its chief marketing officer, the organization said.

Mr. Lumme, 43, replaces Michael Payne, who was shifted to director of global broadcasts and media rights last December and has since left the IOC.

Mr. Lumme, from Finland, joins from ESPN, where he has worked as vice president for Europe, Middle East and Africa since 2001. As a member of the ESPN International executive management team, he has been responsible for creating and driving ESPN's regional brand strategy, and also oversaw the launch in 2002 of the first ESPN-branded channel in Europe, ESPN Classic Sport.

Mr. Lumme has prior Olympic Games experience. He started his career with International Management Group (IMG), where he held several marketing and management positions in London, Paris, Milan, Albertville and Lillehammer. Specific Olympic Games work centered on the Albertville 1992 Olympic Winter Games, where he was a member of the team that created and implemented local and international marketing programs for the Games organizers, and Lillehammer, where he was responsible for IMG's sponsorship and licensing consultancy relationship with the 1994 Olympic Winter Games Organizing Committee.

"The Olympic Games have been a big part of my professional career and I am delighted to be joining the IOC and having the opportunity to work within the heart of the Olympic family," he said in a statement.